作者：Sylvain Gauchet

iOS 6 App Store改版已成事实，开发者现在就只能去适应其中变化。当然，iPhone 5和iOS 6确实含有用户期待开发者采用的优化功能，但新版App Store也有一些变化需要开发者加以重视。

其中有些变化你在导航时候就能尽收眼底，还有些变化仍然有待深入发掘，剩下的就是只有苹果知道，但却可能影响你的游戏/应用表现情况的变化。

App Store改版

这次改版的一大好处就在于，用户可以在任何设备上获得相同的体验，其中的新体验包括：

*搜索结果以“卡片”方式显示：App Store不再显示前25名搜索结果，现在是以“显示卡片”方式展示每款应用。用户进行搜索时，在iPhone上一次只能看到一个显示结果，在iPad一次可以看到6个结果。如果是在iPhone上，他们需划动屏幕以便看到其他搜索结果。假如你的产品位列某关键字搜索结果的第11至第100名，你的自然下载量就很可能受到影响。这也是为何你需要精心挑选关键字以便应用出现在前10名搜索结果的原因。此外，要确保你的首个截图能够直接表达应用内容。要使用能够让用户快速理解游戏玩法的截图，并添加简洁的文字说明。

*分类功能已被“隐藏”：搜索功能在应用曝光渠道中所占比重达63%（游戏邦注：这是尼尔森数据），这一变化将导致用户进行更多主动检索操作，而非浏览排行榜。

*Genius算法取代分类功能：这表明苹果笃信Genius算法有助于优化应用检索效能。虽然目前还没有确切的结果证明这一点，但从苹果举措中已经可以预见其算法会进行调整。

应用详情页面

特定应用的显示方式也发生变化，这一改变也将影响开发者的App Store Optimization（简称ASO）策略。

*应用截图现在是显示在产品描述上方，因此其重要性大为提升。要确保这些截图内容具有关联性，并按一定顺序排列，以便用户清楚了解你的应用或游戏运行方式。再次说明，文本内容有助于玩家理解游戏玩法和功能。你可以在文本内容上做文章，借此推广游戏。

*由于现在只有首行的描述内容会出现在iPhone和iPad上，所以你得在此多下功夫以便让用户了解更多情况。不要忽视“What’s New”版块的作用，因为它的重要性不亚于应用描述：它可以显示你的应用更新情况。

screenshot & what’s new(from gamezebo)

*用户评价现在也有自己的标签，这是一个好消息。在“发表评论”栏目旁边会显示一个“应用支持”按钮，因此要确保你在iTunes提供了一个确切的支持链接，以便将用户引向可获得帮助或联系开发者的页面。iOS 6绑定Facebook功能也意味着用户可以“赞”你的应用。虽然它的重要性不及用户评价，但你可以借此接近用户社群，从而获得更多“赞”。

reviews(from gamezebo)

搜索算法调整

所谓的“Chomp”更新始于6月份，现在它应该会持续改变搜索方式。Appcod.es、SearchMan及MobileDevHQ等ASO服务供应商都已经注意到一些变动。

现在你可以使用单数形式为关键字中的一些重要字符腾出空间，另外也不要用“game”、“center”、“free”或者你的分类名称（因为苹果会自动添加）这些无谓的字段占用关键字空间。也不能用你的IAP名称作为关键字，因为这更是一大败笔。

据SearchMan所观察，另一个潜在变化就是苹果可能会考虑采用你的游戏/应用的外部评价情况。这意味着，评价信息也可能影响应用检索效能。

这是目前我所观察到的App Store变化对开发者及其ASO策略所带来的影响，其中有些变化处于开发者所能掌控的范围之外。预计App Store将来还会出现更多变化，因此开发者需做好对应准备，以便让自己的应用/游戏保持领先。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

iOS 6 App Store and What it Means to Developers

By Sylvain Gauchet

We’ve known for several months now that big iTunes changes were coming, it wasn’t just clear exactly when. Well, the time is now and developers have to make sure they adapt. Of course there are the optimizations for the iPhone 5 and iOS 6 that users expect you to do, but there are also changes in the new App Store that you need to be aware of.

Some of these changes you can see right away when navigating the redesigned App Store, others take a little more digging and the rest are really only known by Apple but are affecting your game or app too.

A Redesigned App Store

One of the nice things about that redesign is that users now pretty much get the same experience whichever device they use. And that experience brings several new things:

Search results are now displayed “Cards-style”. No more lists showing 25 results for a search: results are now displayed showing “cards” for each app. After a search, users see 1 result on iPhone and 6 on iPad. On iPhone, they have to swipe to see each additional result. If you’re ranking between #11 and #100 under a keyword (or a combination of keywords) your organic downloads are most likely to be affected. That’s why you might want to choose keywords for which your app appears in the top 10 results. Also, make sure your 1st screenshot really shows what your app is all about: use a relevant screenshot that allows user to understand how your game is played and add a quick written explanation.

Categories are now “hidden”. Search was already estimated to account for 63% of app discovery (source: Nielsen), and with this change we can expect users to do more search and less browsing.

Apple bets on Genius for app discovery. Categories have been replaced by Genius, and that shows Apple trusts its algorithm to help with app discovery. So far I’m really not convinced by the results displayed but seeing how important Apple made it we can expect them to fine-tune it.

A Redesigned App Details Page

Several things have changed in the way a specific app is displayed, which are impacting App Store Optimization.

Screenshots importance is increasing as they are now displayed above the description. Make sure they are relevant and put them in an order that allows users to understand how your app or game works. Once again, text can help understanding game play and features. You have to use them as advertising: here is a great article about do’s and don’t's when creating those screenshots.

As only the first lines of your description now appear on iPhone and iPad, you have to get them right so users want to know more. And don’t overlook the “What’s New” section, as Apple has made it almost as important as your description: show that your app is getting better and being updated.

Reviews have now their own tab, which is great news. An “App Support” button shows right next to the “Write a Review” one, so make sure you’ve specified a support address in iTunes and that it leads to a page where users can get help or contact you. Facebook integration in iOS 6 also means that users can “Like” your app. It might not be as important as reviews, but you can reach out to your community so you get as many likes as possible (who knows, Apple might use that in their ranking/search algorithm soon).

A Modified Search Algorithm

What people call the “Chomp” update has started back in June, and we can expect it to keep changing the way search works. App Store Optimization experts like Appcod.es, SearchMan or MobileDevHQ have noticed several changes.

As plural form is now handled better, you can use single form to save some precious characters in your keywords. Also, don’t waste keywords on words like “game”, “center”, “free” or even your category name since it appears that Apple adds them automatically. Finally, the time when your in-app purchase names served as keywords seems to be over.

According to SearchMan, another potential game changer is the fact that Apple might start taking into account external reviews of your game or app (as Chomp as been reported to do). In that scenario, a review would be an additional signal for Apple that your app is relevant.

These are the main changes and impacts on developers and App Store Optimization that have been observed so far. There are some things you can act on (do it now!), and some that are outside of your control. This new App Store and its search algorithm are kind of a big deal, and we can expect more changes to come so make sure you stay ahead of the curve to keep your app or game in the race.（source：gamezebo）